Sanctity of Human Life
As many individuals, churches, and organizations recognized Sanctity of Human Life Day on Sunday, January 20, news reports reminded us of the horrendous death toll of 50 million lives taken in the United States since Roe v. Wade in 1973. At the same time we have recently heard that the number of abortions is declining, and both pro-life and pro-choice voices are claiming credit – the former because of the reduction of abortion outlets, the increase of pregnancy resource centers, broader use of ultrasound technology, and persistent emphasis on abstinence, and the latter because of sex education and the ready availability of various forms of birth control.
Another piece of recent news is that, after fourteen years of steady decline, the birth rate for American teenagers grew by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006. Again the two sides pin the responsibility on different factors: pro-choice proponents blame abstinence-only programs which, they claim, fail to provide “common-sense solutions,” and pro-life advocates blame conventional sex education programs that focus on condom and contraceptive use, addressing symptoms rather than underlying causes.
What cannot be denied is the cavalier attitude toward sexual activity that dominates much of youth culture and is a prevalent feature of campus life in America. This was brought home to me again this morning as I read a news item about the rising cost of birth control on college campuses (this article echoed another I had seen several months ago). A feature of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 eliminated incentives for drug companies to provide deeply discounted prices to college health clinics, producing a rapid increase as high as 500% in the cost of contraceptives, straining health clinic budgets, and pushing many students toward less reliable birth control methods.
Birth control advocates are calling the situation a crisis, and some are working to remove the offending feature of the Act. Planned Parenthood wants Congress to make the issue a top priority, and Sens. Obama of Illinois and McCaskill of Missouri have teamed up on a bill to reverse the 2005 provision in order to restore the price discounts.
Others are ruing the “negative” consequences on students. Some colleges, like Bowdoin in Maine, have stopped providing free contraceptives, although one Bowdoin student doubts that much will change, since “students are not necessarily concerned with a couple of dollars.” But other students see it differently. A student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison said, “It’s tough when something I feel is a necessity, like a utility bill, goes up from $7 to $40 a month,” and she tells of a friend who had to “choose between birth control and her monthly grocery bill.” (The friend chose groceries.) The director of student health services at Montana State University in Bozeman noted that the price increase “may seem small, but a lot of small things add up to be significant…It’s just one more price increase for college students in the overall increase in the cost of higher education.”
What is most striking, although less surprising than I wish it were, is the unquestioned assumption that sexual intercourse is the normal course of life on today’s college campuses. According to the American College Health Association, 39% of college women use oral contraceptives, with the implication that a much higher percentage engage in sexual activity but may use other forms of birth control or none at all. The quotations above place intercourse in the same category as turning on the lights (the parallel with utility bills) and classes (just one more increase among the itemized costs of education), making it clear that the broader educational culture fully condones and even promotes sexual promiscuity. Certainly the realities in many residence halls, including fully co-ed halls and bathrooms, reflect this same acceptance.
All of this makes a place like Covenant seem more and more odd, and therefore more and more a distinctive alternative for a college education. While we know that Covenant students do struggle with sexual temptation and some engage in sexual sin, we wholeheartedly promote and celebrate God’s design for human sexuality and sexual relations within marriage. We teach and encourage everyone in our campus community to pursue His holy and satisfying plan. Rather than give in to the flow of our culture toward rebellion and perversity, we joyfully find our calling in the pursuit of God’s purposes even and especially when this means that we stand against the trends.
So, as we grieve 50 million deaths, and rejoice in the slowing abortion rate, and spend ourselves in many directions to protect the unborn, and work alongside others to address teen pregnancy – we must not lose sight of the underlying issue: the reality of sin, the truth and grace of the gospel, the witness of God’s people in word and deed to the beauty and hope of God’s purposes. This is our frame of reference at Covenant, not only for education but for all of life.
Published on 28 Jan 2008 at 8:04 am. 1 Comment.
I left a “thank you” reply after your last blog and would like to again say that your insights are greatly appreciated.
My husband and I have worked with young adults in the local church and Christian school settings for more than 10 years. Yet, I find myself still amazed and disheartened by the influence of our culture on the thoughts and lives of the many young students and graduates that we call friends. It is grievous to think of the ache that many may experience as a result of life choices made in the context of anything other than a Christian worldview.
Christ is, indeed, preeminent in all things…and His precepts are life-giving as they pertain to a diligent work ethic (in reference to your blog, “Millenials”), or to sexuality in the context of “His holy and satisfying plan.”
I believe and affirm that our Lord is interested in redeeming young hearts and minds lost in the deception and complacency of our secular culture. May He continue to use your writing, Dr. Nielson, to inspire and educate Christians interested in communicating that redemptive love to a generation in great need.
Stephanie Reid on 29 Jan 2008 at 2:30 pm.